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- Artist1937Peter MaxGerman-American visual artist best known for psychedelic and pop culture works with bright Day-Glo colors, flowery patterns, butterflies, stars and planets evoking the hippie world of the 60s counterculture; among his globally-popular works were painted images of rock and pop artists, including Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr, covers for albums by Badfinger, Hank Williams, Aretha Franklin and others, a postage stamp for the U.S. Postal Service commemorating Expo ’74, signage welcoming visitors to the U.S. at border crossing with Canada and Mexico in the 70s, a Continental Airlines’ Boeing 777 livery in 1999, a Norwegian Cruise Lines hull in 2012, and scores of posters for concerts, sporting events and the like; published a visual autobiography and collection of personal essays, The Universe of Peter Max, in 2013; was sued for tax evasion in 1999 and for embezzlement in 2019; died in a New York City hospital following a years-long battle with advanced dementia on 9/14/2026, age 88.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Chuck VargaFounding member, bass guitarist, costume designer, and “Sexecutioner” character for controversial shock-metal group GWAR; designed the elaborate creature costumes and background sets for the band’s science-fiction themed, outrageous, violent, sexual, and scatological humor live act formed in 1984 and carried through 15 studio albums to 2022; was one of a small few of long-time members in the group’s frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists, and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc.; enjoyed a side career as a Broadway, film and television set and costume designer; died from an undisclosed form of cancer on 9/25/2026, age 68.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Jackie JacksonJamaican bass guitarist, prolific and influential session musician on ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and discomix recordings throughout the 60s and 70s, and member of reggae pioneers Toots and the Maytals for more than 50 years; joined Supersonics, the house band at Treasure Isle recording studio in 1967 and played on numerous rocksteady and early reggae hits, including enduring songs like Desmond Dekker’s “Isrealites” (#9, UK #1, 1969), The Maytals’ “Pressure Drop” (1969), Paul Simon’s “Mother And Child Reunion” (#4, UK #5, 1972) and many others; won a Grammy award in 2025 as a Maytal, received the Order of Distinction from the Jamaican government in 2012, and won a similar accolade in 2018 from the Jamaican Reggae Industry Recording Association (JARIA) for his services to Jamaican popular music; toured with The Maytals until retiring when COVID restricted concert venues in 2020; admitted to a Jamaica hospital in July 2026 and died from undisclosed causes on 9/23/2026, age 79.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Kevin SpencerOriginal member, co-lead singer, keyboardist and occasional songwriter for 70s-80s R&B/dance-pop vocal trio Dynasty, the pre-fab group created during the launch of record label SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records, a reformed Soul Train Records); sang on all of the group’s ten R&B charting singles from 1979 through 1988, including “I’ve Just Begun To Love You” (#87, Dance #5, R&B #6, 1980); following dissolution returned to session vocal work and appeared on recordings by Carrie Lucas, Shalamar and Gladys Knight & The Pips, among several others; battled cancer in later years and died from the disease on 9/17/2026, age 71.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Gary McCrackenCanadian rock musician and music teacher best known professionally for drumming in Toronto rock band Max Webster from 1976 to dissolution in 1981, including singing lead vocals on the band’s hit “A Million Vacations” (CAN #80, 1979); worked with Rush, Triumph, Klaatu and other Canadian groups in the 80s and issued a lone solo album in 2000; brought music to generations of students in a Sarnia, Ontario technical school before retiring in the mid-10s; died from an unspecified form of cancer on 9/17/2026, age 75.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Gerrit GrahamColumbia University undergrad alongside future filmmaker Brian DePalma, which led to a long career as screenwriter and part actor in films, on stage and on TV; starred with Robert De Niro in early DePalma films Greetings (1968) and Hi Mom! (1970), later appearing in films such as Demon Seed (1977), Pretty Baby (1978), and National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (1982); had TV roles in episodes of Dallas (1988), The Pink Panther (39 episodes, 1993-1995) and Law & Order (1999), among many others; began writing lyrics for songs written by Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir in the 80s and collaborated with Weir on the Dead’s “Victim Or The Crime” (1989) as well as various Weir on the Dead spinoffs, including four songs on RatDog’s album Evening Moods (2000) and other compositions; wrote teleplays and screenplays, including 80s episodes of The Twilight Zone and Disney films The Little Mermaid (1989) and The Prince And The Pauper (1990); continued to collaborate with various artists, including the lyrics to David Kraal’s “Hard Times Of America” (2026) until dying from complications of lung disease on 9/15/2026, age 77.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Cheetah Chromeuitarist, songwriter, and punk rock pioneer as a founding member of Cleveland protopunk legends Rocket from the Tombs and in the outrageous New York punk outfit Dead Boys from 1975 to 1979; co-wrote several of the group’s songs including the punk classic "Sonic Reducer" (1977) and "Ain't It Fun" (1978); over the next four decades did session work, toured or appeared with numerous other artists, reformed Dead Boys on two occasions and for a third time in 2017, toured with RFTT in 2011-12, published the memoir Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy's Tale from the Frontlines of Punk Rock in 2010, released two albums of solo material in 2000 and 2014, and served as A&R and special projects director for Plowboy Records in Nashville from 2012; was planning a 50th anniversary tour in celebration of Dead Boys’ first LP, Young, Loud And Snotty (1977) but passed away from unspecified causes on 9/13/2026, age 71.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Pye DuboisCanadian songwriter/lyricist and “fifth member” of 70s Toronto rock group Max Webster and for frontman Kim Mitchell’s successful 80s-90s solo career, including the lone US hit “Go For Soda” (#86, Mainstream #12, CAN #22, 1985); best known for writing the lyrics to Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” (#44, Mainstream #8, 1981), “Force Ten” (Mainstream #3, 1987) and “Test For Echo” (Mainstream #1, CAN #6, 1996); stopped writing in the late 90s and largely disappeared from the industry until being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021; died at home on 9/15/2026, age 77.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Pete ByrneSinger, songwriter, guitarist, and founder in 1979 of New Wave synth-pop group Neon along with future bandmate Rob Fisher and Tears for Fears founders Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith; formed Naked Eyes with Fisher in 1982, scored a huge hit with their cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Always Something There To Remind Me” (#8, UK #59, 1983) and followed the self-penned hit single "Promises, Promises" (#11, 1983); disbanded Naked Eyes in 1984 and did session work and wrote songs for others until releasing a lone solo album in 2001; restarted Naked Eyes in 2005 as a solo act, cut the LPs Fumbling With The Covers (2007) and Disguise The Limit (2021), and continued touring through 2025; died from acute colitis and a subsequent stroke on 9/14/2026, age 72.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Andy WilliamsWannabe professional wrestler who injured a knee in training in 1995 and took up the electric guitar during rehab; formed metalcore Every Time I Die in 1998 and played rhythm guitar on eight albums and every live show for the band through 2020; resumed wrestling in 2015 and appeared in multiple events on the pro circuit, joining the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) team as “The Butcher” in 2019, and other “stables” and tag teams during the 20s; hit his head on a metal post during a match and died from a subsequent cardiac arrest on 9/5/2026, age 48.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Jon SmallRock drummer, teenage close friend of Billy Joel and bandmate with Joel in Long Island psych rock/soul The Hassles from 1964 to 1969, and in heavy psych-rock duo Attila with Joel for one year and one unremarkable, eponymous album (1970); broke with Joel when Joel ran off with his wife and later married her, but reconciled years later and collaborated with Joel as a client during a successful, 40-year, Grammy-nominated second career as a go-to music video and film director and producer; worked with Aerosmith and Run-DMC on the famous "Walk This Way" video (1986), on multiple Garth Brooks videos such as "Standing Outside The Fire" (1993) and "The Red Strokes" (1994), as well as videos for Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, and several for Joel, among them "Tell Her About It" (1983) and the Ray Charles duet "Baby Grand" (1987); also produce live concert films for The Highwaymen, Reba McIntire and Joel, and others; died from cancer on 9/4/2026, age 79.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Cassandra WilsonGrammy-winning, multi-instrumentalist jazz-blues-pop singer and songwriter, first in local church choirs and R&B cover bands in Mississippi; relocated to New York City in 1982, began singing improv jazz and skat and co-founded the M-Base collective of funk, jazz and soul musicians headed by Steve Coleman; opened for Miles Davis, toured with Wynton Marsalis and started issuing solo recordings in the mid-80s into the 90s, with albums featuring original compositions plus jazz-inflected covers from various genres, including blues legend Robert Johnson’s “Come on Into My Kitchen”, Irish pop-rocker Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” and pop-rock The Monkees’ “Last Train To Clarksville,” among others; won a Grammy for New Moon Daughter (1996), recorded and produced the Miles Davis tribute album Traveling Miles (1999) and starred in a 2000 documentary film based on the album; continued performing at festivals and regional venues while mentoring aspiring young vocalists until passing following a brief illness on 9/1/2026, age 70.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝LatimoreMiami smooth soul singer with two standout, bluesy R&B crossover hits, “Let’s Straighten It Out” (#31, R&B #1, 1974) and “Somethin’ ‘Bout ‘Cha” (#37, R&B #7, 1977), and a third R&B Top 10 hit, “Keep The Home Fire Burnin’” (R&B #5, 1975) among ten other minor chart R&B singles in the 70s; switched labels in 1982, adopted a modern blues sound, and issued a stream of 21 albums through 2013, the last being a tribute to Ray Charles, at the same time doing session work as an electric pianist and appearing on albums by Josh Stone and others; continued to perform in the 10s and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2017; died at home from undisclosed causes on 8/22/2026, age 86.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Shelley FabaresEmmy-winning TV actress on The Donna Reed Show (1958-65, 192 episodes) and Coach (1989-97, 199 episodes), plus appearances on nearly 50 other TV programs, as well as fifteen feature films, including three starring opposite Elvis Presley; best known to pop music fans for singing “Johnny Angel” (#1, UK #41, 1962) and four other minor chart hits that year; wife of music and movie producer Lou Adler from 1964 to 1980, and of M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell from 1984 until dying at home in Los Angeles from pneumonia on 8/22/2026, age 82.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Janie BradfordOne of the original Motown Records employees and co-writer, with label founder Berry Gordy Jr., of Barrett Strong’s "Money (That's What I Want)".(#23, R&B #2, 1959) and received credit as a songwriter on Mary Wells’ “Your Old Standby” (#40, R&B #8, on Marvin Gaye’s “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” (#4, R&B #1, 1969) as well ason numerous other Motown songs; famously championed the name "The Supremes" for the group originally known as The Primettes; relocated to Los Angeles when Motown moved there in 1970 and became head of writer relations for Jobete Music, Motown’s publishing company; left Motown in 1979 and struggled financially for a time, but eventually founded a magazine about the music industry and started a nonprofit organization, the Heroes and Legends Scholarship Foundation, providing support to students interested in entertainment careers; was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2026 and died in a Los Angeles hospital after a long but undisclosed illness on 8/21/2026, age 87.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Ruby AndrewsR&B/soul singer in Chicago vocal group The Vondells before signing with Zodiac Records and scoring an immediate hit with the raw, foot-stomping single “Casonova [sic] (Your Playing Days Are Over)” (#51, R&B #9, 1967); followed with a string of charting hits, including “You Made A Believer out of Me” (#96, R&B #18, 1969), plus three albums of material written and produced by the Detroit-based Brothers of Soul vocal group; founded and headed Genuine Ruby Records and married to Chicago smooth soul The Chi-Lites’ singer Robert “Squirrel” Lester until his death in 2011; released several Swamp Dogg-produced albums of bluesy songs in the 90s and continued to perform on the international soul and oldies circuit into her later years; appeared for a final time at the Chicago Blues Festival in 2022 and was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2023; died at home in Chicago from unspecified causes on 8/13/2026, age 79.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Gary “Rocky” DwyerPercussionist in late-70s and early-80s Liverpool post-punk/psych-rock The Teardrop Explodes after recruitment to the nascent group in 1978 by frontman Julian Cope; became one of only three members to appear on all three of the group’s studio albums during their short, influential but combative run from 1976 to 1982, including the gold-certified debut album Kilimanjaro (#156, UK #24, 1980) and the UK Top 10 single "Reward" (UK #6, IRE #11, 1981); following the group’s final, turbulent dissolution in 1982, collaborated on various Liverpudlian post-punk and indie projects before dropping away from the industry for a second career in various jobs including as a fork lift operator; suffered from years of various maladies before dying from leukemia on 8/9/ 2026, age 67.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Randy BurnsTeenage runaway and busker on the mid-60s Greenwich Village acoustic scene at various coffeehouse open mic events, eventually securing a permanent residency at the legendary Gaslight Café and opening for John Hammond, Phil Ochs and many other folk luminaries of the day; issued three LPs on the experimental jazz and folk label ESP-Disk in the late 60s, the debut album as a solo folk act performing covers and originals, the latter two with all original songs but as frontman for psychedelic-folk The Sky Dog Band, and with none of the three succeeding commercially; signed with Mercury Records and then Polydor and released three more unsuccessful albums in the 70s despite constant touring; returned to straight folk for ensuing decades and lived a nomadic life performing in coffeehouses and festivals across the country, touring Ireland for two years, occasionally recording and issuing CDs, and remaining a cult elder statesman of the original Village folk revival period; died from undisclosed causes on 8/8/2026, age 78.Read more
- Artist2026 ✝Luis GascaTexas-bred Latin-rock and jazz fusion virtuoso trumpeteer and flugelhorn player with a seven-decade career blending Afro-Cuban rhythms, psych-rock, and hard bop as a solo artist and collaborator with major rock and fusion artists; graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music and played with big bands led by Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, and Count Basie in the early 60s; later played horns with Mongo Santamaría, with Janis Joplin at Woodstock in 1969, on Carlos Santana's self-titled 1969 debut, in Latin-rock collective Malo alongside Jorge Santana in the 70s, and on albums by dozens of other artists through to the 80s; issued debut LP The Little Giant (1969) and two other solo albums in the 70s, as well as the star-studded Latin-fusion classic For Those Who Chant (1972); burned out from touring and recording by the mid-80s, dropped away to battle drug and alcohol addiction in a secluded spot in Mexico, and performed only sporadically until returning to the US in the 00s; appeared in a San Antonio charity concert in what turned out to be a final performance the day before dying from unspecified causes on 8/2/2026, age 86.Read more
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